His Doll
by Brigadier-Erin-Lightning
Summary: [Short and Sweet RizaxRoy Fanfic] Roy gives Riza an unusual present which leads her to memories she thought she had forgotten long ago.


**"His Doll"  
****A fanfiction by Erin Lightning**

**Disclaimer: All right to FullMetal Alchemist belong to their respected companies, not to me. Excuse me if I stray from the canon of the show. ****

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_He gave me a doll. Colonel Roy Mustang gave me a doll. And not just any doll, either. He gave me a beautiful baby doll, with soft, comforting blue button eyes, and a shy smile. A doll with long golden locks of well-knitted yarn, and a royal blue dress. A doll with a tiny silver locket._

_A locket that, even with my military training, I couldn't open. Perhaps I didn't want to open it. Or maybe I wasn't supposed to. Nevertheless, the locket shimmered brightly in my feeble lamplight, a well-polished masterpiece. It must have cost him a fortune. Then again, money is nothing to a State Alchemist, right? Whether the locket really was expensive or not, however, was not of my concern. It merely added to the beauty of the little toy masterpiece._

_Now, one question crossed my mind. Why? Why had Roy Mustang gone out of his way to bring me such a gracious gift? Usually, he was so...self-centered, shall we say? More like self-obsessed. Oh well. All I know, is that he didn't tell me anything of why he gave it to me._

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_Earlier today, amidst pouring rain no less, he had shown up at my doorstep, his knock resounding through the empty hallway, to echo softly in my blissful silence that I kept, as always, when I was deep into reading a good novel.As any host should, I dropped my current workings with much dismay and answered the door._

_"Here," he said, his hair drenched, his clothes soggy, an umbrella he held in his hand, but the rain today was slanting so he still recieved the brunt of the storm. His eyes were cold as ice, and he looked as if he felt the same right then. In his hand, he held out a little present box, which, suprisingly, was completely dry. He must have been shielding it all the way over here._

_"T-thank you?" I said, unsure of what exactly he wanted me to say. I took the box in my hand (a beautiful box alone, with deep blue satin ribbon over deep sea blue papering), and looked it over once. However, as I turned my head up to look at him again, I figured it would at least be a good idea to invite him in. Roy Mustang was such a fool, he would freeze himself to death and never realize he was doing it. "Would you like some coffee, Colonel?"_

_He shook his head, his face still not implying any clear motive, nor any emotion for that matter. "I have urgent matters to attend to, 1st Lieutenant."_

_"Yes sir," I replied, now limited to merely watching as he started back down the stairs, and off down the street into the pouring rain. I wanted to go after him, reprimand him perhaps for his idiocy. But, that would be rude. He was my superior, and, sooner or later, I would have to learn to deal with this arrogant attitude of his. So i just watched, then went inside, shutting the door behind me._

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_The present still lay unopen a half an hour later. I had set it down in my study, and gone back to reading for a few minutes. I didn't know when I intended to open it. This made me uneasy, now, and I would look up often from my reading, to stare at the little box. Then, deciding not to open it, I would go back to reading. This was repeated for quite some time, until i relented, walking over to it, and ripping the paper off with almost a fury._

_My hand faltered as I saw the doll. And the little tag, "To Riza." No Lieutenant, no 1st Lieutenant, no ranking period. Just Riza._

_Now, I had resorted to standing by one of the rain-slicked windows, staring out at the dirty little street outside, with its bustling people, thousands upon thousands of shapes of all different colors (umbrellas), and a flurry of traffic passing through. The clouds above gave an almost poetic atmosphere to the darkened world. Ah, what a sweet scene to the eyes of someone who admired the beauty of simple things. But, to Mustang, it would all be nothing but a bother, would it not?_

_The little doll was clutched tightly in my hands, as I found my mind giving way to the thoughts I had held in my heart so dear. I could almost hear the voices of the two children from so long ago, the two little ones that would grow into such aspiring people. The two children that would end up becoming Colonel, and 1st Lieutenant._

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_I could see the rain, soft on the muddy drives of the farmside. The rigid stone towers around us of the town we had once called home. And, right amidst the downpour and the muck, a little boy with a big grin and soft eyes. A goofy sort of kid, Colonel had been. His hair had always been messy, even when it wasn't raining, and he had always been the first one out on rainy days into the puddles._

_And there I had been, following him around with a little shy smile, and big girlish eyes, scolding him in a motherly tone, telling him he'd catch his death out there. Why did I tell him such things? I don't know...maybe it was the fact that my mother once told me that taking care of the ones that were close to you was both the greatest joy in the world, and the most laborous task. And, I'd be lying flat out if I said that Colonel Mustang didn't mean anything to me._

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_But, now, with the rain tapping on my window, a gentle stranger in the evening that came to me like a ghost, comforting and yet a bit upsetting at the same time, I realized that those were just memories. No matter how much they meant to me, how much I reflected on them, they would always end up the same. And there would never be any way to go back to that._

_What I could do now was to take care of him._

_Clutching his doll to my breast, I ran out into the rain to go find the ignorant Colonel, with every intention of dragging him in out of the cold night. I rushed down darkened alleyways, through flooded streets, and along dreary sidewalks, my eyes darting from here to there. Where had he gone?_

_At last, a bright flash of navy blue caught my gaze. But, I was not expecting what I found there. Nor did I expect the sound that reached my ears at that particular moment._

_Laughter. Roy Mustang was laughing. In public. Albeit, away from onlookers, down in the alleyway. But he was still laughing. And he stood there, his navy blue bright among the soft, deep, murky brown that clung to his uniform. Mud._

_"Mustang?" I called to him, confused, my face obvious must have seemed quite comical to him, as he turned to face me. His eyes were wide, and he was filthy. His uniform was covered in mud, his hair was a mess. His gloves were stained, his entire body soaked._

_He said nothing for a long time. He merely looked at me, watching to see how I would react, most likely. Then..., "Do you like your present?" he asked, his voice cool, but somewhat more gentle then it usually was, even though his sarcasm clung to his words with almost the same viability I clung to the doll._

_I didn't answer. Instead, I retorted, "What do you think you're doing out in the rain, Roy? You'll catch your death! And, one thing more, what are you doing out here alone? You know better! A flame alchemist is no good in the ra-"_

_His voice cut me off, as he let out a deep, throaty laugh._

_I wanted to ask what was so funny. But, I didn't need to. I knew. I knew what was so humourous to him. It was me. Not only had I called him by his first name, but I had also scolded him._

_We were no longer Colonel and Lieutenant. Not for this single moment, at least. Right now, we were merely Riza and Roy. In that instant, we were children again. If only just for a moment. My memories returned, causing me to tune out his laughing completely._

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_"I want to show you something, Riza," said a boy's voice. "Something wonderful!"_

_"Fire!" came a girls voice, flashing in, crying out, her voice breaking into sobs._

_Then, the little boy's voice again, softer, as if weakened a little. "S-sorry, Riza...I...guess I should have practiced more, huh? Don't worry, I'm okay. See? Just burned my hand a little. It was Alchemy, Riza. I...I can do alchemy...and, one day, I'll show you a beautiful flame. A flame that I can control. I promise. Just do me a favor, and pray, that on that day, it doesn't rain, k?"_

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_Roy's hand rested on my shoulder now, and his voice awakened me from my memories. "I think it'd be best if we get in out of this rain, Lieutenant."_

_"Why did you have to learn alchemy?" I mumbled._

_He didn't answer for a moment. Then, tilting his head to the skies, he replied, "Why did it have to rain today?"_

_I didn't answer. Not for a long, long time. He started walking towards my house, walking past me, when his voice drifted back. "You should go home, before you catch your death out here."_

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_Now, I see it. This doll...it led me to him. He knew it would remind me of that first time, of those memories. This doll...he meant it, to remind me, of something I forgot a long time ago._

_And, three days later, sitting in my study with the opened locket in my hand, I know that that was why he gave it to me. Because in that locket was a picture. _

_A picture of a little black-haired boy with a great big grin, and a little blonde-haired girl with a scolding look._

_A picture...of a memory._

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**The End**

**_Dedicated to: Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye. One day, they'll fess up to what the fans already know._**


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